Wageningen Livestock Research
THE EQUINE CARBON FOOTPRINT STUDY
© Wageningen Livestock Research, part of Stichting Wageningen Research, 2023
Theun Vellinga, Iris Huisman, Hassan Pishgar Komleh
In order to gain insight into the carbon footprint of the equine sector Wageningen Livestock Research (WLR) developed a calculation tool for the European Equestrian Federation (EEF). The development of the tool was made possible partly through the support of the Swedish Federation (Svenska Ridsportförbundet) as representative of the equine sector. The equine carbon footprint tool is called Hoofprint.
The tool was developed at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 following extensive research by WUR. It utilises existing carbon databases to pool totals and create a total GHG emission count, with the horses age and size, the living conditions such as herd size and pasture management, feeding habits, exercise and travel all considered.
The initial research factored in a number of equestrian disciplines but found no notable differences in the GHG emissions. The key hot spots were identified at feed, manure management, the horses’ internal digestion and transport. As the horses aged, transport accounted for far more of their GHG Hoofprint.
The full research paper will be published by WUR and once publicly available, we will provide a copy on the website.
Calculations on energy requirements were based on the CVB, emission factors for feed were used from FeedPrint and emission factors for enteric fermentation, manure and energy and electricity were used from the IPCC. Emission factors for transport were used from Ecoinvent version 3